Marie-Pierre Delaveau-Marot is a woman who has turned her passion into her profession.

Ms Delaveau-Marot is a quiet person who does not seek the limelight. So it is all the more surprising to learn that not only is she a test pilot for one of the world's biggest aircraft manufacturers, she is the only woman in France holding such a position. The job comes with a salary of $160,000 (£101,000).

The surprise and admiration grows when her husband whispers she's also an aerobatics champion. "She'll never tell you herself," he says. "Too modest."

She is modest, but it's obvious that to do her job she also must have steely nerves and total confidence in her abilities. Her complex character is reflected at home where ultra-modern brushed-metal decor overlooks a natural swimming pool brimming with pond life and the chicken run at the end of the garden.

The inevitable question is whether she has encountered sexism in her job. "Never," she says. "I have always been treated the same as my male colleagues."